What do brown lizards eat?

A:

Quick Answer

Brown lizards, or anoles, are insectivores that eat crickets, mealworms, moths, cockroaches, grasshoppers, waxworms and other arthropods. In the wild, brown lizards may eat other lizards, lizard eggs, aquatic arthropods and small fish.

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Domesticated anoles prefer live insects and other invertebrates. Most pet owners successfully feed them feeder crickets, especially those that have been "gut loaded." Gut loading means feeding the feeder insect nutrition-rich foods such as potato slices, apples, pears, oats, spinach or other greens. This allows the brown lizard to benefit from the nutrients inside the feeder insect. Vitamin powder should also be sprinkled on the insects once a week.

Baby, or hatchling, anoles need to eat daily. Reptilesncritters.com suggests feeding them as many crickets as they will consume in 15 minutes, removing the excess insects after that time period. However, adult anoles only need to eat every other day or even as infrequently as every four to five days. It's suggested choosing crickets whose length is the same as the brown lizard's head is wide.

Brown lizards drink by lapping water from hanging plants and branches. Their tanks should be misted two to three times a day, or an automatic terrarium mister should be installed. Anoles don't need a water bowl -- they usually don't drink from them as they prefer to lick water droplets from plants.